C.J. Sure Chad Wants Opener 'Very, Very Bad'

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Randy's Radar

C.J. Sure Chad Wants Opener 'Very, Very Bad'

Published: Fri, August 29, 2008 - 3:14pm EDT
Randy Lange

By Randy Lange

Lange is editor-in-chief of newyorkjets.com. He covered the Jets for 13 years for The Record of Hackensack, N.J.


File Under: Chad Pennington, Brett Ratliff, C.J. Mosley, David Clowney, Jesse Chatman, Paul Raymond, Ira Lieberfarb

08/29 — C.J. Mosley had another decent preseason showing in Philadelphia. The D-lineman was credited with a late pass defense at the line, played an early screen pass perfectly for another incompletion, and chased A.J. Feeley out of the pocket and forcing the Eagles' third QB to unload a pass that was picked off by Abram Elam.

"You just want to get in the game and make a play any chance you get," said Mosley, who a year earlier had those three sacks of Feeley. "I was a little nervous early, but you just kind of get used to things. Your blood flows, your heart starts pumping, and you play like you know how to play."

If that's how he feels for the fourth preseason game of summer, how will he feel for the opener at Miami? In a lot of ways, he said he'll feel like his friend of the previous several seasons will feel at the Dolphins' offensive controls.

"I would be a bad friend if I said yeah," he said when asked if he would try to put a hurtin' on Chad Pennington. "But my job is my job and his job is his job. His job is to make us look as bad as possible. My job is to say hello to my old friend ... as much as I can."

Pennington left the Jets the day after Brett Favre arrived in trade from the Packers, and one of the messages he imparted was that he wasn't looking for an AFC East landing spot so he could face the Jets twice.

"I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I have no feelings like that whatsoever," Chad said then. "If something happens with the Miami Dolphins, it would be because I feel good about the situation and good about the opportunity. It won't have anything to do with the New York Jets or me trying to prove a point."

As it turned out, something did happen with the Dolphins, and Mosley thinks Pennington will feel just the way he did back in 2006.

"This'll be his first game at home, and he would love to beat us more than anything," Mosley said. "I know how that feels from when I got traded from Minnesota and we played them later that year.

"I'm pretty sure Chad is going to bring his 'A' game. ... He wants to beat us very, very bad. But we can't let that happen."

Strong Summer Showings

The Jets' preseason numbers, teamwise and individually, have tended not to be exciting, regardless of whether a playoff season was ahead or not. But this summer there were a number of performances that were noteworthy if for no other reason than that they gave an indication of what's ahead for the players who gave them.

Passing: It was all Brett ... Ratliff, that is. The first-year signalcaller from Utah blossomed like a sego lily (that's Utah's state flower ... sorry, Brett), starting with the opener at Cleveland. Ratty had the most attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns both in a game and for the preseason. His four TD passes (two to David Clowney, two to Paul Raymond) equaled the total thrown by Kellen Clemens in 2007, Ray Lucas in 2000, and Glenn Foley and Neil O'Donnell in 1998 for the most TD passes by a Jets QB in the last 15 preseasons.

Receiving: Clowney's 163 receiving yards at Cleveland were the most in a Jets preseason since at least 1992 and his 222 yards in 1½ games due to his shoulder injury were the most since Terance Mathis had 254 in '92. But the catch title went to RB Jesse Chatman, who had six receptions at Philadelphia and a team-leading nine for the summer.

Rushing: It was all Chatman, with Thursday's 29 carries the most in a preseason game since at least '92. Jesse had the most attempts and yards in a game and for the summer, and his TD at Philly was the Jets' only rushing score in four games.

Sacks: Cody Spencer finished up his good summer with a forceful PD of a Feeley-to-Bam Childress pass inside the 5 in the third quarter at Philly. Spencer's three sacks were a half-sack off the league leadership and were the most in the preseason by a Jets LB since at least 2001.

Fan-tastic Feature

ESPN.com has come out with its NFL extravaganza. A big part of the package is its fan features. ESPN profiled one fan from each of the 32 teams and the Jets rep is Ira Lieberfarb — yes, Ira from Staten Island and from the Radar. Congratulations, Ira. You look great in your dress whites (with green No. 12, of course).

The Website also ranks the 32 fan bases. I won't spoil it for you (too much) but I'll give you a hint about the Green & White fandom: You're not in top 10 ... but you're also not in the bottom 10.

One final note on the ESPN production. In their SportsNation PollCenter, they offer five questions for each team, and the top question for the Jets is: Will Brett Favre play at a Pro Bowl level? At the moment, the 5,347 voters say Favre will play at that level by a 68 percent to 32 percent margin.

In fact, if you go to their electorate map, you'll find that a majority in only four of the 50 states feel Favre will not play at a PB level. The largest margin against? Massachusetts at 67-33. Hmmm...

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MikeMc Said:

Sun, August 31, 2008 - 12:50pm EDT

"FRANK- you really need to cool it on your criticism of mgmt. your constant disrespect makes me think its personal. Did Tangini write you a bad check , or cut a family member from the roster? Yes there have been bad moves and some questionable ones also, but there have been good ones too!! I'm begging you pls give them 3/4's of the season & if the results are poor I'll join your criticism club."

Offensive Comment?

Coops Said:

Mon, September 1, 2008 - 10:13am EDT

"Randy, any word on when the Practice Squad will be announced? That's if the Pats (Pociask, Bender) and Dolphins (Garner) have left us with any players that we might want to bring back!"

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Mon, September 1, 2008 - 10:15am EDT

Randy Lange Said:

"Coops, we'll have an announcement today. I'm waiting on the list as well."

Coops Said:

Mon, September 1, 2008 - 10:43am EDT

"Great Randy, many thanks. Hoping to see Caulcrick, Ihedigbo, Raymond, maybe Mattison, DeVan and Renkart too. Definitely need to add an OT prospect too, probably from another team's cuts."

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